It can be "free days", as Dan Sullivan calls them, which are midnight to midnight, with absolutely no work or anything that is like work (no files to read on the beach;

no intense self-improvement, though light reading is ok). Just do whatever you feel like, a little like suggested in the wandering around with whim, as in the book The Artist's Way.

Do at least one every other week and it is recommended that you do one every week. Yes, you do have time. And these types of days make you so much more productive during the other days.

THE COMPLETE REJUVENATION NO ACTIVITY DAY PLUS

Set these up ahead of time on your calendar. Once a month is good.

This is the day where you eat an early dinner the night before, go for a walk, set up everything (all snacks, reading material, etc. so you do not have to prepare anything the next day, no TV though), go to bed early, wake up anytime and read or nap but no to do’s, no phone conversations, no internet browsing, no projects, etc., sleep as much as you want – the objective is to be totally refreshed by the next day (so you need to go to sleep early that night, too, despite all the naps!).

(This complete rejuvenation day is a must when one is exhausted and/or stressed out!)

WHO SHOULD DO THIS?

Everybody who needs to get away. A retired person who gets caught up in the day to day and gets stale. A housewife. Anybody.

We are actually seeking to produce "Life Value", not more quantity or "production of widgets or money". Anybody reading this site should consider becoming an expert in producing what is valuable to them by reading and practicing Life Value Productivity.

The expert in "free days"

"A Free Day is a 24-hour period, Midnight to Midnight, in which you, the entrepreneur, do not engage in any business-related thinking, communication, or actions. It is an admittedly difficult concept for many company founders, who might feel they are abandoning their child when they take time away from the business. However, the opposite is true: You become a detriment to your business when you don't. When you refuse to delegate tasks, you slow down your team. When you run out of energy, you don't have the creativity to seize opportunities. When you become reactive, you harm the organization you want to build and protect. Your personal life suffers, too. One successful entrepreneur I know says, "I was boring! I only had one thing I could talk about: work."

The best Free Days are planned in advance—and are protected, inviolate, and non-negotiable. When you learn to disconnect from the stream of demands and information (much of which is soon irrelevant) and invest attention and care in the other aspects of your life, you start making choices against a broader backdrop. Your life becomes more integrated, and less a tug-of-war between conflicting elements.

In 2003, Babs and I are taking 150 Free Days. We booked them before the year began. Imagine the trust in our team that this demanded of us! But until we made the commitment, we couldn't have a team equal to the challenge. Now, our free time is devoted to rejuvenating ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. When we return to work, we're able to be more creative, confident, and productive, and the whole company benefits."

See my discussion and the link to Sullivan: The Strategic Coach. Definitely, without doubt, utilize him to the maximum!

WHY REJUVENATE?

The opposite of rejuvenation is to stress your body without burning off the bad chemicals or allowing the body to go back in balance. Life is supposed to be: surge, rest; surge, rest; surge, rest and so on. Instead, it is surge, surge, yikes!, surge, surge...with no real rejuvenation. (As is discussed in Jim Loehr's book "Stress For Success".)

Rejuvenation is what will allow us to be more creative (which applies to anyone), have more energy, definitely less stressed, and a better outlook on life.

HOW CAN REJUVENATION TIME BE BETTER FOR PRODUCTIVITY THAN TIME SPENT "PRODUCING"?

Of course, I should mention first that "to feel good" is of high value. And you always feel better after rejuvenation.

Rejuvenation is actually a time where the brain's resources are not stretched nor stressed. It is a time for repair, so that it, and the body's energy, can function better.

When we are able to think more clearly, we make vastly better decisions, which means we make better choices with our time - the value of which will be increased as much as 10 times or more.

The time when you are "seeking relief", from self caused stress from functioning not so well, will be freed up, saving vast amounts of time that can be used for producing much more value.

With the remaining days, after subtracting the free days, you will be 50 to easily 100% more productive! That was definitely my experience, as I went from my life being alot easier plus making a million dollar goal the next year...with more than 10 weeks of free days...